Christmas

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agency has spent on Christmas (i) cards, (ii) parties and (iii) decorations in the last 12-months.

Si�n Simon: My Department (i) produced an e-card using internal services, (ii) used no official funds for departmental Christmas parties and (iii) spent £559.44 on undressed Christmas trees (decorations were reused from previous years) for Christmas 2008.
	The Royal Parks (i) spent £200 on Christmas e-cards, (ii) had their staff Christmas party paid for by The Royal Parks directors and (iii) spent no money on decorations in the last 12-months.

Somalia: Piracy

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department has taken to contribute to measures to deter piracy in the Gulf of Aden in the last five years; what contribution his Department has received from the governments of  (a) Kenya and  (b) the Seychelles in such effects; and what steps are available to armed forces personnel upon detection of an act of piracy on the Gulf of Aden.

Bill Rammell: We are taking the situation off the coast of Somalia very seriously and have played an important role in developing the military response to pirate activity. We have key command roles within all of the international task forces and continue to develop our strategies in line with changing operational and political requirements. Piracy is a symptom of wider instability in Somalia and the MOD continues to work comprehensively with other Government Departments and the International community as part of a coherent strategy to address the root causes of piracy.
	The UK is providing a sizeable contribution to the military effort in the region and has a leading role in countering pirate activity off the coast of Somalia:
	MOD has been at the forefront of the European Union mission-Operation Atalanta-since it was introduced in December 2008,
	providing the Operation Commander, the Operation HQ at Northwood, and a frigate for the first period of the operation.
	The Royal Navy has a long standing commitment of frigates and a tanker to the Combined Maritime Force conducting maritime security operations in the region.
	The Royal Navy is a contributor to the Standing NATO Maritime Groups, which at present are rotationally undertaking NATO's counter piracy mission-Operation Ocean Shield. The UK currently has command of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2.
	The Royal Navy manned UK Maritime Trade Organisation has been supporting Merchant Vessels transiting through the region since 2001.
	The UK has a bilateral arrangement with the Kenyan and Seychellois Governments which allows the transfer of suspected pirates for prosecution. Kenya is currently prosecuting eight suspected pirates detained by a Royal Navy vessel. We are very grateful for their ongoing support.
	Royal Navy vessels and coalition forces in the region seek to deter and disrupt pirate activity. Specifically, Royal Navy vessels can actively search for suspected pirate vessels. The Royal Navy can also take robust action to come to the aid of a victim vessel under attack by pirates in international waters. This can again range from deterring and disrupting the attack to the use of reasonable force to defend the victims. However, the safety of any hostages involved remains paramount.
	If suspected pirates are encountered, a decision will be made by the UK Maritime Component Commander, based on legal advice, on whether or not they could be transferred to a regional state for prosecution. If there is insufficient evidence to be confident of a successful prosecution, they will be released. Any piracy equipment found, such as ladders and weapons will be seized and disposed of accordingly.

Driving

Stephen Ladyman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what mechanisms are in place to ensure that staff who drive  (a) a vehicle for which (i) his Department and (ii) one of its executive agencies is responsible have valid driving licences and  (b) their own vehicles in the course of their official duties for (A) his Department and (B) one of its executive agencies have valid driving licences and insurance; what guidance is issued to those staff in respect of road safety while carrying out official duties; what steps are taken to monitor compliance with that guidance; what requirements there are on such staff to report to their line managers accidents in which they are involved while driving in the course of their official duties; and whether such reports are investigated.

Ivan Lewis: The following mechanisms are in place covering those staff using UK fleet vehicles for which Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Services is responsible:
	The Transport Management Team request and hold copies on file of driving licences of all FCO staff who require hire of official vehicles and visual checks are carried out every six months. This is in line with Freight Transport Association (FTA) regulations.
	Staff are covered under a central insurance policy while using official cars for official duties.
	The Transport Management Team within FCO Services monitors a range of measures to ensure road safety among their drivers including:
	All FCO Services large goods vehicle (LGV) drivers attend at least 35 hours of compulsory training every five years in accordance with FTA/Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency regulations.
	Transport Managers who manage drivers with legal commitments (driving hours, tachograph, 48 hour Working Time Directive) have all undertaken and hold the Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) in Road Transport. Drivers are also now undertaking the drivers' CPC qualification.
	A programme of courses are in place to up-skill drivers which looks at driving techniques in difficult driving situations.
	All accidents involving FCO Fleet vehicles or affecting FCO Services drivers are documented and investigated in accordance with law.
	It is not possible to provide an answer covering official vehicles at post overseas without incurring disproportionate cost as arrangements are post specific.
	No checks are made on the licences of those staff who use their own vehicles in the course of their official duties. Staff should ensure that their own insurance policy covers use for business purposes. There is no requirement for checks to be made.
	No guidance is issued to staff in respect of road safety while using their own vehicles for official duties in the UK. Guidance may be issued to those staff using their own vehicles overseas although this would be specific to the post.
	There is no requirement for staff to report accidents in which they are involved while driving their own vehicles in the course of their official duties.

Nigeria

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the government of Nigeria on child welfare in that country, with particular reference to the situation of children identified by other people as witches or wizards.

Ivan Lewis: We remain deeply concerned about the problem of children being accused of witchcraft in Nigeria. Our high commissioner in Abuja has been in frequent contact with the Governor of Aka Ibom State to raise our concerns, including in July this year in response to information that charities dealing with the issue in the State had suffered intimidation.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office also funds part of the work Stepping Stones Nigeria and the Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network are undertaking in Akwa Ibom State including a public enlightenment campaign, which we hope will help change attitudes towards so-called 'child witchcraft'.

Sickle Cell Diseases

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assistance his Department provides to schools in respect of education on sickle cell anaemia.

Ann Keen: The main health contact for schools is likely to be a school nurse. The school health service can provide guidance on medical conditions, including sickle cell anaemia, help schools draw up individual health care plans for pupils with medical needs; can supplement and augment information provided by parents and the child's general practitioner, and advise on training for school staff in administering medicines and in taking responsibility for other aspects of support.

Sickle Cell Diseases

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on raising the level of public awareness of sickle cell disorders in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: The Department has funded the NHS Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Screening programme to develop materials for public information (including information on screening, carrier status and a parents' handbook on children with sickle cell disease) and to undertake a number of public outreach projects in areas where there is a high proportion of black and minority ethnic populations who may have difficulties accessing healthcare services. For the four years, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09, the programme spent a total of more than £2 million. No figures before this are available.
	In addition, the Department awarded the Sickle Cell Society a Section 64 grant of £20,000 over two years (2003-04 and 2004-05) for health education. A Third Sector Investment programme project grant of some £258,000 has recently been awarded to the Sickle Cell Society for three years (2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12) for a named National Support Care Advisor for sickle cell disorders.

Criminal Records Bureau: Contracts

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons the processing of Criminal Records Bureau checks was tendered to the private sector; when the contract with Capita for processing Criminal Records Bureau checks will next be reviewed; and what arrangements have been put in place to ensure that Capita processes such checks in a timely manner.

Meg Hillier: The Disclosure Service operates as a contract between the Criminal Records Bureau and Capita Business Services based upon a public-private partnership agreement. Under this agreement, Capita are required to perform contractually specified services and to develop, deliver and maintain the technical infrastructure of the Disclosure Service. A contract schedule sets out the service levels for Capita to meet. The current contract expires in 2012.
	The decision to tender to the private sector was made following a detailed options analysis. Five options were initially assessed and these were then reduced to two-Contract Crown/private entity for design, build and operation of CRB against a traditional Crown agency. Assessments based on investment appraisal, financial risk, technical/operational risk, performance management, skills and capability and implementation time concluded that a public-private partnership (PPP) approach was the most beneficial option against these criteria.

Immigration Controls

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell of 5 November 2009,  Official Report, column 1138W, on immigrations controls, how many sponsorship licences have been granted to  (a) employers and  (b) educational institutions since the inception of the points-based system.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 30 November 2009
	 The number of sponsor licences that have been granted to employers since the inception of the points-based system to 27 November 2009 is: 13,475
	The number of sponsor licences that have been granted to educational institutions since the inception of the points-based system to 27 November 2009 is: 3,065
	Figures for educational institutions are for those sponsors who have specified Education as the industry sector that best explains their organisations main economic activity, irrespective of PBS tier.
	The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition

Greg Knight: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many automatic number plate recognition cameras are in operation other than on the public highway; and what the  (a) location and  (b) purpose is of each.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport has no automatic number plate recognition cameras (ANPR) permanently located in off road locations.
	The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's wheel clamping contractors, NSL Services Ltd, uses a fleet of 35 mobile wheel clamping units equipped with ANPR technology to help detect unlicensed vehicles. These units operate on and off the public road.

Cars: Carbon Emissions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many and what proportion of cars sold in the UK had carbon dioxide emissions levels of 100 grammes per kilometre or less in  (a) each of the last five years and  (b) 2009 to date.

Sadiq Khan: Data on carbon dioxide emissions per km (gCO2/km) from new cars sold in the UK is only available up to the year 2008. This data is published on the Department for Transport's website at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pqr/statistics/datatablespublications/vehicles/licensing
	A total of 3,592 cars with CO2 emissions under 100gCO2/km were sold from 2004-08. By year this breaks down as follows:
	
		
			   Number of new cars sold with CO 2  emissions of 100g/km  Number as percentage of total new car sales 
			 2004 20 0.001 
			 2005 16 0.001 
			 2006 9 0.001 
			 2007 52 0.002 
			 2008 3,495 0.17

Departmental Internet

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what the cost was of maintaining his Department's website in the 2008-09 financial year; and what the forecast cost is of maintaining websites within his responsibility in the 2009-10 financial year.

Chris Mole: Tables have been placed in the Libraries of the House showing operating/maintenance costs for 2008-09 and forecast operating/maintenance costs for the Department for Transport websites 2009-10.
	Where annual operating/maintenance costs are not available this is due to a number of reasons; either the costs are part of a much larger contract and cannot be itemised; or the costs cannot be calculated without incurring disproportionate costs. Costs provided do not include staff costs.

London Airports

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport with reference to the answer of 9 November 2009,  Official Report, column 49W, if he will publish the submission to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State setting out  (a) the (i) reasons and (ii) justifications for not providing the information requested in question 298409 and  (b) the estimated cost of providing the information requested, as required in accordance with section 7.28 of the Cabinet Office's Guide to Parliamentary Work.

Paul Clark: The request in question 298409 was about representations received from hon. and right hon. Members of each party in favour of  (a) a third runway at Heathrow airport, (b) a second runway at Gatwick airport,  (c) further expansion of Stansted airport and  (d) a new airport in the Thames estuary. No time period was specified. As my 9 November answer explained, no such records are held centrally. To seek to obtain the information would therefore require an exhaustive search of both electronic and paper records across the Department for Transport at least as far back as 2002 when options for airport development were consulted upon. Such an exercise would well exceed the £750 threshold in Cabinet Office guidance for written questions.

Lorries: Accidents

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many accidents involving  (a) UK-registered and  (b) non-UK registered heavy goods vehicles were recorded on UK roads in each of the last 10 years.

Paul Clark: Data concerning whether vehicles involved in personal injury road accidents are foreign registered has only been collected from 2005. The table shows the number of personal injury road accidents since 2005 involving known foreign registered HGVs and HGVs recorded as not foreign registered:
	
		
			  Reported personal injury accidents involving heavy goods vehicles: GB 2005-08 
			   Accidents involving foreign registered HGVs  Accidents involving HGVs not registered  as foreign( 1)  All HGV accidents( 2) 
			 2005 1,098 9,835 11,162 
			 2006 1,047 9,342 10,466 
			 2007 919 8,995 9,829 
			 2008 836 7,644 8,415 
			 (1 )Includes some cases where at the time of reporting it was not known whether an HGV was foreign registered. (2) Includes cases where it is not recorded whether HGV is foreign registered. Accidents can include both foreign registered HGVs and HGVs not registered as foreign so the total may be smaller than the sum of other two figures.

Motorways: Noise

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what information his Department has compiled on the difference measured in decibels between the typical noise created by a concrete motorway surface and a low-noise tarmac surface.

Chris Mole: holding answer 30 November 2009
	Typical noise levels created from either in-service concrete or low-noise surfaces cannot be readily defined. Noise levels created by individual surfaces, even for the same surfacing material type, can vary widely as they are influenced by factors such as age of the surface and its texture depth wear.
	Whenever major maintenance is carried out on the strategic road network in England, a low noise surfacing is specified. The Highways Agency specification requires low noise surfacing materials to be at least 2.5dB(A) quieter than traditional Hot Rolled Asphalt surfaces.

Motorways: Repairs and Maintenance

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what estimate the Highways Agency has made of the cost per mile of resurfacing concrete motorways with low noise tarmac surfaces.

Chris Mole: holding answer 30 November 2009
	The estimated cost per mile of resurfacing each lane of concrete pavement on a motorway using quieter surfacing materials ranges between £200,000 and £1,900,000 at today's prices. Accurate cost estimates can only be obtained once a schemes detailed design has been undertaken, as this will depend on the type of treatment required and associated site specific requirements. The higher costs would only be incurred where roads constructed to old design standards (i.e. before 1987) were resurfaced, so these are becoming increasingly rare.

Railways: Bridges

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what steps his Department is taking to ensure the structural integrity of railway bridges in England.

Chris Mole: The structural integrity of railway bridges in England is an operational matter for Network Rail as owner and operator of the national network, and the company has its own teams of structures engineers.
	The funding and efficiency of the maintenance and renewal activity by Network Rail on its own bridges is determined and monitored by the independent Office of Rail Regulation as part of its determination of the company's outputs and funding for each five-year Control Period.
	Network Rail-owned bridges over railways most commonly carry local authority roads. In England, under the Railway Bridges (Load Bearing Standards) Regulations (England and Wales) Order 1972 (SI 1705/1972), they are statutorily required to be able to carry 24 imperial tons. They are covered by a national programme of assessment and works and a national cost sharing agreement with local authorities relating to the costs of assessment and strengthening.

Thameslink Railway Line: Industrial Disputes

Anne Main: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what the outcomes are of his Department's monitoring of the effects on train services of First Capital Connect train drivers choosing to work only their contracted hours; what assessment he has made of the effects of such action on routes other than the Bedford to Brighton route; how many other routes have been affected to date; what steps he is taking to resolve the situation; and what assessment he has made of the extent to which First Capital Connect can deliver on its franchise requirements while such action persists.

Chris Mole: holding answer 1 December 2009
	Officials at the Department for Transport are ensuring that the amended timetables that First Capital Connect is operating look to protect the first and last services of the day for all First Capital Connect routes; provide a balanced service during the day; and provide replacement bus services where appropriate. First Capital Connect is obliged to re-instate trains when resources are available and this is happening when possible.
	No assessment has been made of the effects of the action on other routes, but there is a notable increase in passengers using First Capital Connect services on the Great Northern route during peak periods. In addition, First Capital connect has arranged for its tickets to be valid on Southern services between Brighton, Sutton, Wimbledon and intermediate stations to Victoria, as well as on Stagecoach South West Trains services between Wimbledon and Waterloo.
	First Capital Connect Thameslink tickets can also be used on the Tramlink services and on London underground and buses on all reasonable routes. Further, on the Great Northern route, First Capital Connect will when necessary arrange for their passengers to be able to use the East Coast services between Peterborough and London.
	First Capital Connect is in negotiation with the unions to resolve this matter and all parties are urged to resolve this unacceptable situation.
	The Department for Transport is monitoring First Capital Connect's ability to deliver their franchise requirements in accordance with their contractual commitments and we will take appropriate action to ensure compliance.

Departmental Taxis

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many miles  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Department travelled by taxi in the course of their official duties in each year since 1997; and at what cost to the public purse in each such year.

Peter Hain: The information is as follows:
	 (a) and  (b). This information is not held centrally.
	My Department has spent the following amounts on taxis:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2002-03 1,266 
			 2003-04 1,154 
			 2004-05 625 
			 2005-06 2,321 
			 2006-07 2,194 
			 2007-08 3,424.16 
			 2008-09 5,505.10

Members: Allowances

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Leader of the House how much Sir Thomas Legg's work on hon. Members' expenses is expected to cost.

Barbara Keeley: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer provided to the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker) on 22 October 2009,  Official R eport, column 1630W:
	'The review is expected to cost approximately £1.1 million.'

Employment

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how long on average it took an 18 to 24 year-old on jobseeker's allowance to get a full-time paid job in  (a) the UK,  (b) England,  (c) the North East and  (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in the latest period for which figures are available.

Dawn Butler: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated November 2009:
	As National Statistician, 1 have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how long on average it took an 18 to 24 year old on job seeker's allowance to get a full-time paid job in  (a) the UK  (b) England and  (c) the North East and  (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in the latest period for which figures are available. (301751)
	The Office for National Statistics publishes the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) from the Jobcentre Plus administrative system. Although some information is available on whether people leaving JSA did so because they found work, this information does not distinguish part time and full time work, and as its collection is voluntary it does not have sufficient coverage to be reliable

Housing Benefit

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households in each tenure group were in receipt of  (a) housing benefit and  (b) council tax benefit in May (i) 2001, (ii) 2005 and (iii) 2009; and what the annualised cost was of each benefit at those dates.

Helen Goodman: Information on council tax benefit is not available broken down by tenure type. The available information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Number of housing benefit and council tax benefit recipients in Great Britain by tenure: May 2001 and May 2005 
			   Housing benefit (HB)  Council tax benefit 
			   Total HB  Social rented  Private rented  Other  All council tax benefit 
			 2001 3,874,400 3,131,140 743,260 - 4,673,370 
			 2005 3,956,820 3,165,890 790,930 - 4,959,690 
			  Notes: 1. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. 2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest ten. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated. 4. Housing Benefit figures exclude any Extended Payment cases. 5. Council Tax Benefit figures exclude Second Adult Rebates. 6. - represents nil or negligible.  Source:  Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System quarterly 100 per cent. and taken in May 2001 and May 2005. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of housing benefit and council tax benefit recipients in Great Britain by tenure: May 2009 
			   Total HB  Social rented  Private rented  Other  Council tax benefit 
			 2009 4,412,990 3,186,400 1,221,420 5,170 5,444,060 
			  Notes: 1. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. 2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest ten. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated. 4. Housing Benefit figures exclude any Extended Payment cases. 5. Council Tax Benefit figures exclude Second Adult Rebates.  Source:  Single Housing Benefit Extract (SHBE) taken in May 2009. 
		
	
	
		
			  Expenditure on housing benefit by tenancy type, and council tax benefit, cash terms 
			  £ millions 
			   2001-02  2005-06  2009-10 forecast 
			 Local authority 5,282 5,263 5,816 
			 Registered social landlord 3,486 4,959 7,588 
			 Private renter 2,827 3,723 6,248 
			 Total housing benefit 11,596 13,945 19,652 
			 Council tax benefit 2,686 3,774 4,648 
		
	
	
		
			  Expenditure on housing benefit, split by tenancy type, and council tax benefit real terms, 2009-10 prices 
			  £ millions 
			   2001-02  2005-06  2009-10 forecast 
			 Local authority 6,424 5,753 5,816 
			 Registered social landlord 4,239 5,421 7,588 
			 Private renter 3,438 4,070 6,248 
			 Total housing benefit 14,101 15,245 19,652 
			 Council tax benefit 3,266 4,126 4,648 
			  Notes: 1. Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit expenditure are only available for full financial years. 2. Figures for 2009-10 are Budget 2009 forecasts. 3. Figures include all expenditure, whether funded by central or local Government. Housing Benefit expenditure includes Discretionary Housing Payments. 4. Updated forecasts, and actual expenditure for 2008-09 will be published following the 2009 pre-Budget report. 5. Real terms figures are in 2009-10 prices, and derived using the Budget 2009 GDP deflator. 6. Historic and forecast expenditure for housing benefit and council tax benefit can be found on the internet at: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/medium_term.asp  Source:  Local Authority Subsidy returns and Budget 2009 forecasts.

Housing Benefit: Newcastle Upon Tyne

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households in the  (a) owner occupation,  (b) social rented and  (c) private rented accommodation sector in the City of Newcastle upon Tyne were in receipt of (i) housing benefit and (ii) council tax benefit in May (A) 2001, (B) 2005 and (C) 2009.

Helen Goodman: Housing benefit is not paid to owner-occupiers. Council tax benefit information is not available by tenure type.
	The available information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Number of housing benefit and council tax benefit recipients in Newcastle upon Tyne by tenure: May 2001 and May 2005 
			   Housing benefit (HB)  Council tax benefit 
			   All HB  Social rented  Private rented  Other  All council tax benefit 
			 May 2001 32,360 27,020 5,340 - 35,380 
			 May 2005 29,090 24,670 4,420 - 33,020 
			  Notes: 1. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. 2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest ten. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. Housing Benefit figures exclude any Extended Payment cases. 4. Council Tax Benefit figures exclude Second Adult Rebates. 5. - represents nil or negligible. 6. 'Owner/Occupier' tenure type is not available from the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System data source.  Source:  Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System quarterly 100 per cent. taken in May 2001 and May 2005. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of housing benefit and council tax benefit recipients in Newcastle upon Tyne by tenure: May 2001 and May 2005 
			   Housing benefit (HB)  Council tax benefit 
			   All HB  Social rented  Private rented  Other  All council tax benefit 
			 May 2009 29,990 25,040 4,940 10 33,690 
			  Notes: 1. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. 2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest ten. 3. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated. 4. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 5. Housing Benefit figures exclude any Extended Payment cases. 6. Council Tax Benefit figures exclude Second Adult Rebates.  Source:  Single Housing Benefit Extract (SHBE) taken in May 2009.

Capita

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on how many occasions Capita Group plc tendered for contracts let by his Department and its predecessors in each of the last five years; how many such tenders were successful; how much his Department and its predecessors paid to Capita Group plc for the execution of contracts in each such year; how many contracts which terminate after 2010 Capita Group plc hold with his Department; and what the monetary value is of all outstanding contracts between his Department and Capita Group plc.

Barbara Follett: No commercial contracts have been let with Capita Group plc in the last five years. Details of individual tenders could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Assets

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assets of his Department are planned to be sold in each year from 2009-10 to 2013-14; what the  (a) description and  (b) book value of each such asset is; what the expected revenue from each such sale is; and if he will make a statement.

Barbara Follett: No asset disposals are planned by the Department in either 2009-10 or 2010-11, the last years of the current spending review period. The Government have stated its intention to realise £16 billion in asset disposals over the period 2011-14 and will publish further details of opportunities to commercialise business assets in the coming weeks.

Departmental Internet

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost was of maintaining his Department's website in the 2008-09 financial year; and what the forecast cost is of maintaining websites within his responsibility in the 2009-10 financial year.

Barbara Follett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) on 6 May 2009,  Official Report, columns 234-35W.
	Regarding costs for 2009-10, the annual running costs for this technology platform are fixed and we are contractually committed to all elements of the budget.
	In line with the Public Accounts Committee recommendation and COI guidance for Government Departments, we will supply cost data for the financial year 2009-10 in April 2010.

Fires: Death

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average age was of those killed in domestic fires in each Fire and Rescue Authority area in each year since 2000.

Shahid Malik: The information requested is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Average age of fatalities in dwelling fires by FRS area, England, 2000-08( 1) 
			  FRS area  2000-08( 1)  2000  2001 ( 2) 2002  2003( 2)  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008( 1) 
			  England (3)54.6 55.1 53.8 52.7 51.5 53.0 52.8 57.3 57.8 58.7 
			
			 Avon 54.2 49.8 44.5 60.5 60.2 54.3 50.0 73.7 60.3 48.0 
			 Bedfordshire 52.5 62.0 40.3 55.3 50.2 55.0 78.0 53.3 - 38.0 
			 Berkshire 54.6 50.9 65.8 19.0 44.7 66.0 84.0 67.5 57.0 53.3 
			 Buckinghamshire 61.3 67.3 61.7 54.0 45.5 59.0 87.5 68.0 55.0 74.0 
			 Cambridgeshire 54.8 60.7 24.5 11.0 50.5 67.7 63.5 37.0 80.5 57.0 
			 Cheshire 58.9 76.8 74.4 38.2 45.3 76.0 52.9 50.8 60.4 60.4 
			 Cleveland 38.6 54.0 41.8 30.5 28.1 22.5 39.5 45.5 72.0 63.5 
			 Cornwall 69.0 78.5 53.0 69.3 59.3 71.7 69.5 - 86.5 79.0 
			 Cumbria 66.1 83.3 67.8 79.0 65.0 63.3 86.0 30.0 63.4 65.2 
			 Derbyshire 43.5 34.3 43.4 47.5 37.5 66.4 47.5 20.0 49.5 41.7 
			 Devon and Somerset 52.1 63.0 51.5 45.7 54.2 61.7 55.3 55.1 48.7 32.5 
			 Dorset 58.2 65.0 70.6 30.2 58.0 36.3 82.0 85.0 39.0 70.9 
			 Durham 54.6 53.0 28.3 54.7 67.9 68.7 53.3 46.8 - 61.0 
			 East Sussex 58.8 63.7 58.3 69.3 33.7 67.5 51.0 84.0 64.5 42.6 
			 Essex 61.6 35.1 74.2 78.9 51.0 57.0 63.6 80.1 62.6 65.8 
			 Gloucestershire 59.3 75.0 87.0 30.5 49.4 77.0 59.0 67.5 57.8 80.0 
			 Greater London 55.7 58.2 50.8 59.6 52.5 55.6 49.7 67.9 59.8 50.8 
			 Greater Manchester 51.2 56.0 60.2 51.5 45.8 54.0 43.1 47.3 53.6 54.9 
			 Hampshire 56.9 70.4 51.3 60.8 48.4 60.6 56.7 53.0 54.0 54.2 
			 Hereford and Worcester 69.7 59.0 79.0 82.3 69.0 53.5 71.5 57.3 78.7 50.0 
			 Hertfordshire 61.3 45.8 78.6 61.4 0.0 - 43.8 84.5 50.0 58.0 
			 Humberside 44.8 58.4 61.9 37.4 17.3 29.9 36.3 79.0 57.7 60.5 
			 Isle of Wight 56.0 - - - - - 55.0 89.0 24.0 - 
			 Isles of Scilly - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Kent 49.9 60.4 46.8 55.9 48.7 56.4 42.6 33.8 43.3 60.2 
			 Lancashire 49.7 33.5 53.1 43.5 52.2 52.1 59.8 47.7 62.7 70.4 
			 Leicestershire 52.8 70.0 57.8 56.4 66.3 33.1 67.3 42.8 58.3 61.2 
			 Lincolnshire 54.4 69.0 66.0 49.8 47.5 45.8 27.5 57.8 62.8 50.0 
			 Merseyside 58.5 52.6 62.1 57.2 64.1 58.5 50.4 70.0 65.9 61.4 
			 Norfolk 62.7 61.6 53.0 79.5 74.3 46.5 59.8 57.0 69.7 74.5 
			 North Yorkshire 59.7 59.0 52.3 78.4 48.6 66.0 54.0 47.0 - 81.0 
			 Northamptonshire 55.4 61.0 45.3 42.3 58.0 22.0 41.3 67.4 62.3 77.0 
			 Northumberland 51.5 78.0 28.2 - 58.7 - 65.0 76.0 58.0 62.0 
			 Nottinghamshire 56.8 65.0 51.3 48.3 48.0 65.2 53.8 55.4 64.0 76.0 
			 Oxfordshire 59.2 24.0 64.7 54.2 55.0 71.5 80.5 60.0 51.7 73.0 
			 Shropshire 51.9 37.1 60.0 56.8 78.0 50.0 68.5 33.8 90.0 67.6 
			 South Yorkshire 54.0 55.7 37.7 57.0 45.1 67.3 61.8 56.3 57.0 61.9 
			 Staffordshire 51.7 42.5 51.4 56.4 57.7 43.8 35.3 46.4 65.4 68.0 
			 Suffolk 55.5 45.3 41.6 56.8 61.5 73.0 22.0 75.8 65.0 59.0 
			 Surrey 61.9 57.1 20.0 52.0 72.0 64.0 74.0 79.8 58.3 58.5 
			 Tyne and Wear 60.5 64.0 66.4 72.8 63.1 73.8 39.2 65.6 45.1 67.2 
			 Warwickshire 56.6 72.2 42.2 0.0 49.0 72.5 53.7 - - 54.3 
			 West Midlands 54.5 58.2 56.3 44.8 52.0 41.5 62.5 55.0 57.2 59.7 
			 West Sussex 59.8 59.3 79.0 62.8 67.3 48.8 80.0 63.5 54.5 88.0 
			 West Yorkshire 46.9 48.5 54.8 29.4 51.0 40.9 40.1 54.6 51.4 54.8 
			 Wiltshire 54.9 - 41.3 88.5 61.0 47.0 - 53.5 39.0 55.4 
			 (1) Provisional data for 2008 is provisional and subject to change. (2) Excluding incidents not recorded during periods of industrial action in 2002 (total of 18 incidents) and 2003 (total of five incidents) (3) Average age is calculated on the basis of all fatalities in dwelling fires.

Fires: Death

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many deaths there were of people aged  (a) one to four,  (b) five to 10,  (c) 11 to 16,  (d) 17 to 24,  (e) 25 to 29,  (f) 30 to 59,  (g) 60 to 64,  (h) 65 to 79 and  (i) 80 and over, per million population, in domestic fires in England in each year since 2000.

Shahid Malik: The fatal casualties in dwelling fire rates per million population by age group, are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Fatal casualties in dwelling fires rates per million population by age group, England, 2000 - 08( 1) 
			  Age group  2000  2001  2002( 2)  2003( 2)  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008( 1) 
			 Rate (per million) of fatal casualties 7.0 7.3 6.2 6.9 5.3 5.7 5.7 4.9 5.0 
			   
			 Under 1 year 1.7 1.8 1.8 3.5 - 3.3 1.6 4.7 - 
			 1-4 4.1 5.5 4.8 10.6 7.5 4.4 5.1 3.3 1.6 
			 5-10 3.1 3.7 4.8 1.6 3.0 2.8 2.3 0.6 1.7 
			 11-16 1.8 1.0 1.0 0.8 1.0 0.8 1.3 0.5 0.3 
			 17-24 2.5 4.4 2.7 3.2 2.0 2.9 1.1 1.8 1.6 
			 25-29 3.7 4.3 4.4 7.4 3.2 3.2 2.4 2.7 2.3 
			 30-59 6.1 5.6 5.3 6.2 4.5 5.0 4.4 4.3 4.5 
			 60-64 7.5 5.9 8.3 6.2 6.4 8.5 7.4 5.2 6.6 
			 65-79 13.2 12.2 10.6 10.4 9.7 11.0 12.1 9.6 8.9 
			 80 and over 35.8 38.1 24.9 28.1 21.3 18.7 26.4 23.3 23.8 
			 Unspecified - - - - - - - - - 
			 (1 )Data for fatal casualties 2008 is provisional and subject to change. (2 )Excluding incidents not recorded during periods of industrial action in 2002 (total of 18 incidents) and 2003 (total of five incidents).  Sources:  Fire incidents data base, Communities and Local Government, and Mid-Year Population Estimates 2000 to 2008, Office for National Statistics.

Fires: Elderly

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what recent assessment has been made of the vulnerability of older people to domestic fires; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what plans he has to reduce the number of deaths of older people caused by fires in domestic dwellings.

Shahid Malik: The Government are committed to reducing all fire deaths and uses research and statistics to inform more effective targeting of fire safety messages. We are aware of the potential vulnerability of older people to domestic fire. The latest fire statistics (2007) show that over 50 per cent. of the fatalities in accidental dwelling fires were aged over 65.
	Independent research, published in 2006, highlighted five key groups who were more vulnerable to fire and harder to reach with crucial messages, one of whom was older people. The Government's Fire Kills campaign seeks to reduce fire deaths in older age groups through specifically targeting its television advertising at programmes that older people are likely to watch. The campaign recognises the importance of partnership working. We are pursuing a range opportunities with Help The Aged/Age Concern, the main suppliers of oxygen to hospital out-patients, and Bowls England, as a means to deliver fire safety messages to older people through their trusted communication channels.
	Between 2004 and 2008, Government provided pump-priming funding of £25 million to fire and rescue services to deliver a programme of home fire risk checks. Firefighters target this free service to vulnerable groups in their communities, including older people and provide tailored fire safety advice and, where necessary, install free smoke alarms. Fire and rescue services continue to deliver this programme and funding is now available through the Revenue Support Grant Block Grant.

Green Belt: Property Development

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps the Government are taking to ensure that the green belt is not adversely affected by housing development.

Ian Austin: The Government are committed to the protection of green belt and its crucial characteristics of openness and permanence. Under our policy in PPG2 (Planning Policy Guidance Note 2, Green Belts), house building in green belt other than limited infill in villages or affordable housing for local needs allowed for in development plan policies is 'inappropriate development'. Any such proposal would be subject to the tests set out in PPG2.
	Government encouragement to give priority to brownfield development is also playing its part. In 2008, eighty per cent of dwellings (including conversions) were built on brownfield land. Also, homes were built at an average of 44 per hectare. This all helps to reduce the pressure on both greenfield and green belt land.
	Green belt area at 31 March 2009 was estimated to be 1,638,840 hectares, around thirteen per cent of the land area of England. This represents a net increase of 3,170 hectares on the 31 December 2007 estimate of 1,635,370 hectares.

Housing

Chloe Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden of 11 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 525-6W, on housing, how many first-time buyers there were in  (a) Norwich North constituency and  (b) each region in each year since 1997.

Ian Austin: Information on numbers of mortgages to first time buyers is collected and published at the UK level by the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

Local Government Finance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the shortfall in local authority funding following recovery operations after the floods of summer 2007; and whether he plans to make up the shortfall from central Government funds.

Rosie Winterton: As at June 2008, it was estimated that local authorities had spent £224 million on the response to and recovery from the summer 2007 floods. This total includes insurable costs.
	Government made available a comprehensive package of over £136 million to assist the affected regions and help those in greatest need, including funding for schools, transport and businesses.
	The Bellwin scheme was activated nationwide, for all authorities affected by the June and July 2007 floods. The schemes announced by the Prime Minister were among the most generous ever-with an extension of the period for which local authorities are eligible to claim-from two months to six months and an increase in the proportion of costs local authorities could claim to 100 per cent. (instead of the usual 85 per cent.), once they spent above their usual threshold (0.2 per cent. of their revenue budget). Around £19 million was paid out through this scheme.
	In addition, we exceptionally made available Flood Recovery Grant of £18.4 million to support the work of the hardest hit local authorities in helping these people in their communities in greatest need and, in July 2008, £30.6 million was allocated under the Restoration Fund to support their continued efforts to rebuild their communities. The Department for Children, Schools and Families also made £13.5 million available for schools and children's services affected by the floods.
	Local authorities are expected to meet some of the costs of flooding by claiming on their insurance policies, reprioritising their budgets, and using their reserves, if necessary. Every local authority is required to maintain reserves, one of the main purposes of which is to meet unexpected costs.

Non-Domestic Rates

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate has been made of the likely amount to be billed to businesses in each region in national non-domestic rates in  (a) total and  (b) respect of properties experiencing a rates reduction as a result of the planned transitional relief scheme in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13, (iv) 2013-14 and (v) 2014-15.

Barbara Follett: No estimates of the likely bills have been made, as these contain not only transitional relief but all other reliefs, some determined at the billing authorities' discretion. Therefore it is not possible to estimate the likely bill of a hereditament.
	For the purpose of modelling the 2010 Transitional Relief scheme, the Notional Chargeable Amount (NCA) was calculated. The NCA for a given year is the product of the rateable value and that year's small business multiplier. The NCA is then compared to the previous year's reference value increased by the caps. The minimum of these two values was used as a proxy for the bill after transition but before all other reliefs. Details on the methodology and assumptions used can be found on page 49 of the The transitional arrangements for the non-domestic rating revaluation 2010 in England consultation document. These include zero inflation, which does not reflect the latest information available, and adjustments for appeals.
	A copy of the consultation document is available at the following link:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovemment/nndrrevaluation2010

Non-Domestic Rates

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was billed to businesses in each region for national non-domestic rates in 2008-09; and what estimate he has made of the equivalent figures in 2009-10.

Barbara Follett: The net amount of non-domestic rates that should have been collected in 2008-09 after reliefs, in each region in England, are given in the following table.
	Data for 2009-10 are not yet available.
	
		
			  Estimated net collectable debit in respect of 2008-09  non-domestic rates 
			   £000 
			 North East 724,119 
			 North West 2,287,952 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 1,647,167 
			 East Midlands(1) 1,368,470 
			 West Midlands 1,806,357 
			 East of England 1,965,847 
			 London 5,057,209 
			 South East 3,102,642 
			 SouthWest(1) 1,545,321 
			 Total England 19,505,084 
			 (1) Data for Harborough and Isle of Scilly are estimated as their QRC4 returns were not received in time for inclusion in the statistical release.  Source:  QRC4 Quarterly Return of Council Tax and Non-domestic rates 2008-09. 
		
	
	These data are also available in Table 3 of the statistical release collection rates for council tax and non-domestic rates in England 2008-09 that was published on 25 June 2009 and is available on the Communities and Local Government website at:
	www.communities.gov.uk/localgovernment/localregional/localgovernmentfinance/statistics/counciltax/collectionrates

Property Development: Common Land

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what alternative land was offered to common land owners in cases where permission to develop or build on common land was granted in  (a) Rochdale constituency and  (b) England and Wales in each of the last three years.

Ian Austin: In the last three calendar years, where land was given in exchange to the owner of the common land, consent has been granted for a total of 8 applications in England. There were no applications which related to the Rochdale parliamentary constituency. Consent was granted for one application in Wales.

Vacant Land: Tamworth

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much and what proportion of land area in Tamworth borough was green space in 2004.

Ian Austin: Unfortunately we are unable to identify a comparison figure for 2004 for green space. However, Tamworth borough can not recall any significant losses of the green space network if any at all since 2004. Therefore the figure shown in the Tamworth borough local plan 2001-11 adopted on 6 July 2006 is the best approximation of green space land, being 1,189 hectares (2,940 acres) which is 38 per cent. of the total area of Tamworth borough.

Hollesley Bay Prison: Prisoner Escapes

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have absconded from HMP Hollesley Bay in each of the last five years; and how long each absconder had served in the prison before absconding.

Maria Eagle: The data in table 1 as follows shows the number of prisoners who have absconded from HMP Hollesley Bay in each of the last five years. Table 2 below shows how long each absconder had served in the prison before absconding.
	Absconds have been falling for some years and last year recorded the lowest number of absconds on record. This year is on course to improve further on that record low. Prisoners abscond from prison for many reasons. While open prisons will look for indications that prisoners may be susceptible to absconding, both on allocation to the prison and during their stay in the prison, it is not possible to predict every instance in which a prisoner may want to abscond.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of absconds from HMP Hollesley Bay in each of the last five years 
			   Number of absconds 
			 2004-05 32 
			 2005-06 16 
			 2006-07 21 
			 2007-08 19 
			 2008-09 17 
			 2009-10 to date 10 
			 Total 115 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Days served by absconders in HMP Hollesley Bay before absconding in each of the last five years 
			   Abscond number  Days before abscond 
			 2004-05 1 11 
			  2 255 
			  3 20 
			  4 0 
			  5 173 
			  6 31 
			  7 31 
			  8 10 
			  9 1 
			  10 1 
			  11 56 
			  12 150 
			  13 27 
			  14 32 
			  15 13 
			  16 93 
			  17 45 
			  18 9 
			  19 9 
			  20 46 
			  21 15 
			  22 95 
			  23 110 
			  24 129 
			  25 50 
			  26 97 
			  27 25 
			  28 9 
			  29 9 
			  30 78 
			  31 7 
			  32 7 
			
			 2005-06 1 4 
			  2 12 
			  3 2 
			  4 31 
			  5 55 
			  6 164 
			  7 4 
			  8 64 
			  9 41 
			  10 18 
			  11 10 
			  12 32 
			  13 65 
			  14 264 
			  15 171 
			  16 131 
			
			 2006-07 1 107 
			  2 104 
			  3 54 
			  4 97 
			  5 35 
			  6 33 
			  7 26 
			  8 7 
			  9 735 
			  10 37 
			  11 23 
			  12 96 
			  13 16 
			  14 4 
			  15 135 
			  16 184 
			  17 20 
			  18 29 
			  19 134 
			  20 62 
			  21 217 
			
			 2007-08 1 74 
			  2 20 
			  3 59 
			  4 143 
			  5 7 
			  6 41 
			  7 1 
			  8 323 
			  9 329 
			  10 15 
			  11 9 
			  12 15 
			  13 9 
			  14 59 
			  15 257 
			  16 7 
			  17 3 
			  18 7 
			  19 8 
			
			 2008-09 1 23 
			  2 578 
			  3 7 
			  4 88 
			  5 47 
			  6 72 
			  7 23 
			  8 22 
			  9 23 
			  10 104 
			  11 122 
			  12 375 
			  13 70 
			  14 82 
			  15 201 
			  16 78 
			  17 115 
			
			 2009-10 to date 1 17 
			  2 12 
			  3 55 
			  4 18 
			  5 121 
			  6 26 
			  7 46 
			  8 49 
			  9 106 
			  10 40 
			  Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. 
		
	
	Figures on absconds and a range of other prison performance statistics are available on:
	http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/abouttheservice/prisonperformance/performancestatistics/

Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many first time entrants into the criminal justice system there were in each local authority area in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 30 November 2009
	 I have been asked to reply.
	The data on first time entrants (FTE) to the criminal justice system from 1997-99 are currently unavailable in this format.
	FTE data from 2000-01 to 2008-09, by local authority, are published at table 2 here:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d000895/index.shtml

Prison Accommodation

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what criteria are used to determine whether a prisoner is eligible to be held at open prison; and whether a conviction for premeditated murder is an automatic bar to being so held.

Maria Eagle: There is a well established categorisation and allocation system which aims to ensure that all prisoners are allocated to a prison with a security category consistent with managing their needs in terms of security and control. The categorisation process assesses the risks posed by individual prisoners in terms of: likelihood of escape or abscond; the risk of harm to the public in the event of an escape or abscond and any control issues that impact on the security of the prison and those within it. The risk assessment will take account of issues including: the nature and circumstances of the index offence, any previous convictions, positive and successful efforts to reduce identified risk levels.
	Prisoners convicted of pre-meditated murder cannot be held in open prisons on their initial categorisation decision, but may be transferred to open prison conditions at a later stage as part of their sentence progression. Convicted murderers serving life sentences and other indeterminate sentence prisoners will be transferred from closed to open prison conditions only following the decisions of the independent Parole Board. Before making such a decision, the Parole Board must be satisfied that the case meets the criteria set out in the Directions to the Parole Board under Section 32(6) of the Criminal Justice Act 1991.

Prisoner Escapes

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners have escaped from custody  (a) during transfer between prisons and  (b) in other circumstances in each month of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: There have been two escapes on an inter prison transfer in the past five years. These occurred in October 2005 and March 2006.
	The following data shows the number of prisoners who have escaped from custody in England and Wales between April 2004 and December 2008. The number of escapes from custody has been falling since 1995 when centrally collated records began; this is against the backdrop of an increasing prison population.
	
		
			  Prisoners escaping from custody between 1 April 2004 to 31 December 2008 by month of escape according to type of escape 
			   Number of escapes from establishment  Number of escapes from prison service escort  Number of escapes from contractor escort 
			 April 2004 - 2 3 
			 May 2004 1 2 3 
			 June 2004 - - 2 
			 July 2004 1 1 1 
			 August 2004 1 - 1 
			 September 2004 2 - 4 
			 October 2004 1 1 1 
			 November 2004 1 - 3 
			 December 2004 3 1 4 
			 January 2005 - - 1 
			 February 2005 2 - 3 
			 March 2005 - 1 2 
			 April 2005 - 1 3 
			 May 2005 - 1 - 
			 June 2005 - - 3 
			 July 2005 - 2 - 
			 August 2005 1 - 1 
			 September 2005 - - 3 
			 October 2005 - 3 1 
			 January 2006 2 - - 
			 February 2006 - 1 2 
			 March 2006 - - 4 
			 June 2006 1 - 2 
			 July 2006 - - 2 
			 August 2006 - - 1 
			 September 2006 1 - 3 
			 October 2006 - - 1 
			 November 2006 - - 2 
			 December 2006 - - 2 
			 January 2007 - 1 1 
			 February 2007 - - 3 
			 March 2007 - - 2 
			 April 2007 - - 2 
			 May 2007 - - 1 
			 June 2007 - - 1 
			 August 2007 1 - 3 
			 September 2007 2 - 1 
			 October 2007 - 1 2 
			 November 2007 - - 2 
			 December 2007 - - 1 
			 January 2008 - 1 2 
			 March 2008 1 - 1 
			 April 2008 - - 3 
			 May 2008 - 1 1 
			 June 2008 - - 1 
			 October 2008 - 1 2 
			 November 2008 - 1 1 
			 December 2008 - - 3 
			  Notes: 1. Data on escapes from contractor escorts includes escorts from police station to court as these are carried out by National Offender Management Service contractors. These figures do not include other police-related escort escapes such as escapes while been transported from point of arrest to police station or transport between police stations. 2. All figures shown are for KPI Escapes recorded as part of the NOMS performance management system.

Residence Orders: Guardianship

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many children in  (a) Newcastle upon Tyne and  (b) each region and country of the UK were on (i) residence orders and (ii) guardianship orders (A) in each of the last five years and (B) at the latest date for which information is available.

Bridget Prentice: The number of children on a residence order or special guardianship order at any point in time is not held centrally. The number of residence orders and special guardianship orders made by courts in England and Wales in the last five years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of residence and special guardianship orders made, 2004 to June 2009 
			   Court  Region 
			   Newcastle  London  Midlands  North East  North West  South East  South West  Wales  England and Wales 
			  Public Law  
			  Residence Orders  
			 2004 - - - - - - - - 2,765 
			 2005 - - - - - - - - 2,739 
			 2006 - - - - - - - - 2,688 
			 2007 95 333 263 818 353 421 292 107 2,587 
			 2008 59 248 418 734 361 508 381 93 2,743 
			 January to June 2009 22 104 160 308 153 207 145 52 1,129 
			   
			  Special Guardianship Orders  
			 2004 - - - - - - - - - 
			 2005 - - - - - - - - - 
			 2006 12 88 77 62 79 92 58 17 473 
			 2007 24 99 100 136 148 116 85 40 724 
			 2008 20 157 83 179 191 162 108 48 928 
			 January to June 2009 18 67 54 77 107 56 40 21 422 
			   
			  Private Law  
			  Residence Orders  
			 2004 - - - - - - - - 25,904 
			 2005 - - - - - - - - 24,335 
			 2006 - - - - - - - - 23,185 
			 2007 210 2,888 4,333 4,234 4,008 4,196 3,036 1,390 24,085 
			 2008 195 2,882 4,571 4,510 3,831 4,385 3,128 1,619 24,926 
			 January to June 2009 58 1,285 2,358 2,174 2,018 2,204 1,600 708 12,347 
			   
			  Special Guardianship Orders  
			 2004 - - - - - - - - - 
			 2005 - - - - - - - - - 
			 2006 1 23 29 13 12 46 22 13 158 
			 2007 2 61 52 53 47 118 45 28 404 
			 2008 17 72 68 51 88 127 64 37 507 
			 January to June 2009 7 61 47 33 44 82 34 33 334 
			  Notes:  1. Figures relate to the number of children subject to each order. More than one order may be made per child each year.  2. There have been data quality issues with figures for the family proceedings courts and a new method of data collection was introduced in April 2007 which has improved the level and accuracy of recording compared with previous year. For this reason regional and court level figures are not available pre 2007 and comparisons at a national level between pre and post 2007 figures should only be made with caution.  3. Figures are for special guardianship orders made in county and High Courts only. Separate figures for all family proceedings courts are not currently collected. Special guardianship orders came into force on 30 December 2005.  4. County court figures and figures for those family proceedings courts sharing administration with county courts are extracted from FamilyMan, a live system that is continually updated Therefore figures may differ slightly from those previously published.  Source:  HMCS FamilyMan system and manual returns.

Sentencing: Ex-servicemen

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether veterans are identified as such on reception into custody; and what assistance his Department provides for such veterans.

Maria Eagle: Prisoners are routinely asked for details of their employment history as part of the prison induction process. Prison assessment procedures are being revised to include more specific questions to identify offenders who have served in the armed forces.
	The Ministry of Defence works with third sector organisations and across Government to raise awareness among ex-service personnel of the help and support available to them and their families while they serve their sentence and prepare for release. Leaflets and posters have recently been distributed to prison establishments giving contact details of the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA), The Royal British Legion (TRBL), Soldiers Sailors Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA) Forces Help and Combat Stress and the types of support provided by these agencies. These include access to welfare officers; treatment for anxiety, post traumatic stress and sleep disorders; financial assistance; and help with rent, clothing, training, relocation and employment. The MoD funded Medical Assessment Programme is available for specialist military mental health advice for veterans in prison referred to them by prison medial staff. The programme has been extended to include Reservists Mental Health for those who have deployed since 2003.

Sentencing: Ex-servicemen

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assistance veterans handed down a custodial sentence are given by the Prison Service while serving their sentence.

Maria Eagle: Posters, leaflets and guides are available to governors and prison officers to help them to signpost veterans to the range of support services provided by Government and voluntary organisations. This includes Ministry of Defence funded mental health services and voluntary organisations providing resettlement support to veterans and their families. Many Governors have chosen to appoint a local point of contact for co-ordinating and promoting the services. A new guide: Veterans in Custody Support-A Guide will shortly be distributed to all prison establishments. This will be backed by training and support in the form of networking events and visits to establishments, during the period January to March 2010.
	To complement veteran specific services, the Prison Service has access to 102 mental health in reach teams and provides a portfolio of interventions, containing 14 offending behaviour programmes, six drug programmes five Therapeutic Communities and a Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder programme.
	Officials are currently matching Ministry of Justice data on prisoners with Ministry of Defence data on veterans to find both the scale and scope of the issue of veterans in custody. This data will allow us to examine paths into offending and consider whether more specific services need to be developed for veterans in prisons.

Child Care Vouchers

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many women have received childcare vouchers in  (a) the UK,  (b) England,  (c) the North East and  (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in each year since their introduction.

Stephen Timms: Published research, commissioned by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in 2005, by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) estimated that 69 per cent. of the employees receiving Employer Supported Childcare (ESC) are women (Table 4.6, Page 49). NatCen's report is available at
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/research/research-report23.htm
	The report also estimates the number of eligible employees offered employer supported childcare in late 2005 and that childcare vouchers represent the majority of the provision of ESC. Using these estimates along with the eligible employee take up rate for those offered ESC (on page 44) shows that approximately 63,200 women were receiving childcare vouchers at the end of 2005. Information for other time periods is not available.
	The report also estimates the proportion of employers that offer ESC split by government office region (Table A.7, Appendix A, page 19). From this, an estimated 85 per cent. of employers offered ESC are based in England and 1 per cent. in the North East of England. No such estimate is available for the constituency Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland.
	These numbers should be treated with caution as the employee take up rate and use of vouchers over other forms of ESC would likely vary from region to region and this does not account for employees working in one region and living in another. All of these estimates are subject to very wide confidence intervals due to random sampling.

Departmental Internet

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) page hits and  (b) visitors his Department's website received in 2008-09.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Page views and unique visitors for the department website for the period November 2008 to November 2009 are as follows:
	Page views: 11,709,412
	Unique visitors: 2,086,396
	Statistics prior to October 2008 are unavailable due to the migration of the department website to centrally hosted servers.

Departmental Internet

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost was of maintaining his Department's website in the 2008-09 financial year; and what the forecast cost is of maintaining websites within his responsibility in the 2009-10 financial year.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The costs of maintaining the Departmental website are as follows:
	www.hm-treasury.gov.uk
	
		
			  Financial year  Maintenance costs (£) 
			 2008-09 168,549 
		
	
	Maintenance costs include direct costs, for example web hosting, support, and infrastructure.
	The forecast cost for maintaining websites within the Chancellor of the Exchequer's responsibility in the 2009-10 financial year are as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year  Website  Forecast costs (£) 
			 2009-10 http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk 185,193 
			 2009-10 http://www.isb.gov.uk 0 
			 2009-10 http://www.gfp.gov.uk 0 
			 2009-10 http://www.ogc.gov.uk 216,277 
			 2009-10 http://www.dmo.gov.uk 47,000 
		
	
	These figures do not include any redevelopment costs associated with the web sites in question.
	Under the Transformational Government strategy to rationalise websites the ISB website is being integrated into the HM Treasury site, therefore no costs are associated with this site. The GFP website is supported by sponsorship therefore there is no cost to HM Treasury.

Departmental Legislation

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criminal offences have been  (a) abolished and  (b) created by primary legislation sponsored by his Department since 1 May 2008.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: No offences were abolished during the relevant period.
	The following offences were created during the relevant period.
	All of these were created under the Banking Act 2009 (c.1), which received Royal Assent on 12 February 2009. These offences comprise:
	Section 153(4) - failure without reasonable excuse to provide the FSA a copy of a notice regarding successful rescue;
	Section 199(4) - failure to comply with an order to close a payment system;
	Section 200(3) - breach of a prohibition on being the operator of a recognised inter-bank system;
	Section 204(10) - failure without reasonable excuse to comply with a requirement to supply information / to knowingly or recklessly give false information;
	Section 205(1) - pretending to be a recognised inter-bank payment system;
	Section 221(1)-unlawful issue of banknotes in Scotland or Northern Ireland;
	Parts 2 and 3 (bank insolvency and bank administration) - sections 389 and 430 to 432 of the insolvency Act 1986 are applied, which create new offences as they are applied to the insolvency procedures under the Banking Act.

Departmental Lost Property

Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) laptop computers,  (b) mobile telephones,  (c) items of office furniture and  (d) works of art have been (i) lost by and (ii) stolen from his Department in each of the last three year; whether his Department has made an insurance claim on each such item; and what the estimated value of each such item was.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: In respect of the numbers of  (a) laptop computers and  (b) mobile telephones lost by and stolen from his Department, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member Putney (Justine Greening) on 12 October 2009,  Official Report, column 250W.
	No  (c) items of office furniture and  (d) works of art have been lost by, or stolen from, the Department in the last three years.
	In accordance with value for money guidance to all central government organisations, HM Treasury does not take out commercial insurance against these risk.
	The estimated value of each laptop is £600 and of each mobile telephone is £50.

Departmental Taxis

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many miles  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Department have travelled by taxi in the course of their official duties in each year since 1997; and at what cost to the public purse in each such year.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information requested on mileage could not be provided within the disproportionate costs threshold. Spending on taxis/private hire in 2008-09 was £219,000 and in 2007-08 £216,000. For information on spending in earlier years I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the former Exchequer Secretary (Angela Eagle) on 26 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1922W to the hon. Member for Hertford  Stortford (Mr. Prisk).

Driving

Stephen Ladyman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what mechanisms are in place to ensure that staff who drive  (a) a vehicle for which (i) his Department and (ii) one of its executive agencies is responsible have valid driving licences and  (b) their own vehicles in the course of their official duties for (A) his Department and (B) one of its executive agencies have valid driving licences and insurance; what guidance is issued to those staff in respect of road safety while carrying out official duties; what steps are taken to monitor compliance with that guidance; what requirements there are on such staff to report to their line managers accidents in which they are involved while driving in the course of their official duties; and whether such reports are investigated.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The travel guidance issued to staff in HM Treasury and the Debt Management Office requires that driving licences are checked when a member of staff first hires a vehicle for official business and they are subsequently re-checked on an annual basis. Where a member of staff uses their own vehicle on official business, when making a claim for reimbursement of their expenses they acknowledge that they have valid insurance for business use that also covers passengers, possess a valid driving licence, maintain the vehicle in a roadworthy condition and, where appropriate, has a valid MOT certificate and maintains the vehicle in accordance with the manufacturer's schedule. It is the claimant's line manager's responsibility to verify the insurance status of the claimant and any material changes to the insurance should be reported to the line manager.
	When opting to drive on business, employees are reminded that-on long journeys, a break of 15 to 20 minutes should be taken every two hours, the driver should ensure that they are familiar with the controls, particularly in hire vehicles, before setting off, and that it is illegal to use a mobile telephone while driving, and they should switch them off to avoid the possibility of distraction. Officials and line managers are required to report all accidents and incidents that occur during the course of work. This includes accidents whilst driving on official business. Any reported incidents involving injury are investigated and compliance is normally monitored through internal audit procedures.

Financial Institutions: Pay

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce legislative proposals to limit the remuneration of hedge fund directors.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Government have no plans to introduce legislative proposals to limit the remuneration of hedge fund directors.
	However, the Government have taken steps to ensure that remuneration paid at systemically significant financial institutions is commensurate with a prudent approach to risk and leads to long-term value creation. The FSA code, which comes into force on 1 January 2010, includes requirements for deferral and clawback from significant banking and other institutions. In addition, the Government are taking legislative measures in the Financial Services Bill that will bestow a duty on the FSA to ensure remuneration is consistent with effective risk management and will enable improved disclosure of remuneration, which in turn will facilitate better shareholder oversight of risk.
	The FSA will review its Rule and Code during 2010.

Financial Services

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate has been made of the amount of tax allowable losses of banks and financial services companies which will be carried forward from the 2008-09 financial year; and for how many years those losses will be allowable against tax.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 27 October 2009,  Official Report, column 275W.

Taxation: Aviation

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many aeroplanes in the UK are exempt from air passenger duty; and how many of them are privately-owned.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Air passenger duty (APD) is calculated on the number of passengers on board a flight on its take off from a UK airport. No tax is due on flights without passengers.
	Exemptions apply for certain categories of passengers, including cabin crew and children under two who are not allocated their own seat. Flights that depart from an airport in the Scottish Highlands and Islands are also exempt.
	Aircraft certified as having an authorised take off weight of less than 10 tonnes, or that are equipped to carry fewer than 20 passengers, are outside the scope of the tax, and consequently not liable to air passenger duty. We cannot say how many aircraft are outside the scope of APD; however, the CAA publishes details of UK registered aircraft at:
	http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=56pagetype=90pageid=107
	We do not have information on how many aircraft are privately-owned.

Foreign Workers

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what his most recent estimate is of the proportion of the workforce engaged in unskilled labour who are non-UK nationals.

Dawn Butler: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated December 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the most recent estimate is of the proportion of the workforce engaged in unskilled labour who arc non-UK nationals. (302568)
	In terms of the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) unskilled labour relates to those people classified to the Elementary Occupations group.
	The most recent estimates are for the three-month period July-September 2009 and show that 13 percent of those people aged 16 and over employed in Elementary Occupations were non-UK nationals. The estimate is derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	The Figure is derived from the EFS microdata which are weighted using the official population estimates published in autumn 2007. They are not entirely consistent with the figures published in the monthly Labour Market Statistical Bulletin, which is weighted using more up-to-date population estimates.

Manufacturing Industries

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what assistance the Government has provided to the manufacturing sector in  (a) the UK and  (b) the West Midlands in the last 12 months;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the size of contraction in the manufacturing sector since the start of the recession in  (a) the UK and  (b) the West Midlands.

Ian Lucas: The Manufacturing Strategy launched in September 2008 brings together over £150 million support for a range of policy measures that address key issues impacting on competitiveness such as skills, design, technology, global value chains and the move to a low carbon economy. Work is also well under way to complete a new purpose-built Manufacturing Technology Centre at Ansty, near Coventry, which will provide industrial-scale demonstration facilities to help industry develop new manufacturing capabilities.
	The Advanced Manufacturing package of measures announced in July 2009 provides more than £150 million from the Strategic Investment Fund to support the development of high tech manufacturing that will enable UK manufacturers to take advantage of new market opportunities.
	Over the last 12 months, the Government have also launched the Real Help for Business package, and the Vehicle Scrappage Scheme where more than a quarter of a million orders for new vehicles have been placed, 9 per cent. of which were in the West Midlands.
	The recently expanded Manufacturing Advisory Service has conducted 31,000 manufacturing reviews and supported more than 11,000 implementation projects worth nearly £700 million value added. Support in the West Midlands over the past year was worth £7.5 million.
	In addition, Advantage West Midlands has provided assistance worth just over £54 million to manufacturers in the West Midlands over the last 12 months, including a £3.5 million boost for the automotive supply chain announced in July.
	Based on ONS' latest Index of Production (IOP) data, manufacturing output in the UK declined 15.3 per cent. from peak to trough (February 2008 to August 2009), however there is no comparable data for manufacturing output in the West Midlands over the same time period.
	In the UK, during the three months to June 2008 there were 2.87 million employee jobs in the manufacturing industry, while in the three months to June 2009 there were 2.64 million, a fall of 7.9 per cent. This compares to the West Midlands where there were 322,000 employee jobs in the manufacturing industry in the three months to June 2008, while in the three months to June 2009 there were 284,000, a fall of 11.8 per cent.

Departmental Manpower

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells of 12 October 2009,  Official Report, column 456W, on departmental buildings, what the job titles are of the 25 London-based staff in premises other than 3 Whitehall Place.

Joan Ruddock: Staff concerned with the Department's non-proliferation responsibilities are currently housed in 1 Victoria street. Their job titles cover nuclear non-proliferation, chemical weapons non-proliferation and the delivery of the UK Global Threat Reduction Programme.

Electricity Generation: Costs

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his most recent estimate is of the average cost of generating 1 MW of electricity by each different generating technology.

David Kidney: The Government have carried out analysis on generation costs in recent years to inform policy decisions. Some of these estimates were published as part of the Energy Review (2006) at:
	http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file32014.pdf
	More recently the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) have published estimated levelised costs (£/MWh, in 2008 prices) associated with 1 MWh of electricity generated, for their December 2008 report at:
	http://www.theccc.org.uk/pdf/TSO-ClimateChange.pdf,
	as set out in table 1 and include construction, operation and maintenance costs and where applicable the cost of carbon allowances (EU ETS). Moreover, for nuclear, they also include the costs of decommissioning and waste.
	It should be noted that the estimates of levelised costs for different types of electricity generation are highly sensitive to the assumptions used for capital costs, fuel and EU ETS allowance prices, operating costs, load factor, and other drivers. In reality, there are large uncertainties and ranges around these figures.
	
		
			  Technology  Levelised cost (£/MWh) 2010 
			  Wind plant  
			 Onshore wind (high wind) 65 
			 Offshore wind (high wind) 83 
			  Coal-fired plant  
			 Coal-central fuel 54 
			  Gas-fired plant  
			 CCGT-central fuel 53 
			  Nuclear plant  
			 Nuclear 51 
			  Source:  The Committee on Climate Change (2008) 'Building a low-carbon economy' p189. 
		
	
	The costs of most generation technologies have increased over the past 18 months, primarily due to increases in input prices. Work is on-going to update Government's cost assumptions for different forms of generation.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much has been allocated to the Low Carbon Buildings Programme in  (a) 2009-10,  (b) 2010-11,  (c) 2011-12,  (d) 2012-13 and  (e) 2013-14; and (i) what proportion of funding will be for England, (ii) what carbon dioxide emissions reduction is expected to be achieved, (iii) how many properties will be affected and (iv) how many jobs will be created in each of those years.

Joan Ruddock: holding reply 24 November 2009
	 As at September 2009 the amount of funding allocated to the Low Carbon Buildings Programme in  (a) 2009-10,  (b) 2010-11,  (c) 2011-12,  (d) 2012-13 and  (e) 2013-14 is as shown:
	 Note:
	The LCBP programmes (phase-1 and phase-2) are due to close on 31 March 2011.
	 Allocation  of f unding
	In Budget 2009, an additional £45 million was allocated to the LCBP programme which was allocated as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			   2009-10  2010-11  2011-12  Total 
			 LCBP-1 (Householders) 1,000,000 5,000,000 0 6,000,000 
			 LCBP-2 (Communities and other not-for-profit etc.) 29,000,000 10,000,000 0 39,000,000 
			 Total 30,000,000 15,000,000 0 45,000,000 
		
	
	 The geographical division of funding
	There is no prescriptive allocation of funding within the programmes for regions or nations as the programmes allocates funding on a first-come-first-served basis. However, using historical information, we estimate that the approximate 'split' of where funding will be made is as follows:
	
		
			   2009-10 (£)  2010-11 (£)  Total (£)  Percentage 
			 England 25,800,000 12,900,000 38,700,000 86 
			 Northern Ireland 600,000 300,000 900,000 2 
			 Scotland 1,500,000 750,000 2,250,000 5 
			 Wales 2,100,000 1,050,000 3,150,000 7 
			 Total 30,000,000 15,000,000 45,000,000 100 
		
	
	 Number of installations
	Based on an estimate of 60 per cent. in 2009-10 and 40 per cent. in 2010-11 to account for the introduction (and therefore closure of the programmes to electrical microgeneration on 31 March 2010) of green energy cash-backs (FITs), our forecast for the number of installations is as follows:
	
		
			   Number  
			  Installations  2009-10  2010-11  Total  Percentage 
			 England 6,703 4,469 11,172 91 
			 Northern Ireland 0 0 0 0 
			 Scotland 139 92 231 2 
			 Wales 553 369 922 7 
			 Total 7395 4930 12,325 100 
		
	
	We are unable to make a forecast with regards to Northern Ireland as they are currently undergoing public consultation on their own legislation for a 'FIT's equivalent'. We will revise these figures when the outcome in published.
	 Carbon dioxide emission reduction
	It is not possible to give accurate estimates of the anticipated carbon savings attributable to installations in 2009 through to 2011 as this is dependent on the size, efficiency and type of equipment to be specified in future applications, however, since inception of the programmes in early 2007, we estimate that the savings from installed equipment to date is as follows:
	
		
			   Estimated Carbon units (per annum)  Estimated Carbon units (lifetime)  Number of completed installations 
			 LCBP-1 (Householders) 2,555 61,825 8,480 
			 LCBP-2 (Communities, not-for profit etc.) 10,240 224,259 2,845 
			 Total 12,795 286,084 11,325 
		
	
	With an estimate of 12,325 installations in FY 2009-10 to FY 2010-11, we would anticipate approximately doubling the above savings.
	 Green jobs
	The Department does not hold information on the number of people employed in the microgeneration industry.
	The additional £45 million funding that was allocated to the Low Carbon Buildings Programme in the recent Budget will create jobs and move the microgeneration industry supply chain to a position where it can contribute to achieving the challenging 2020 renewable targets. Our Renewable Energy Strategy consultation estimated that renewable energy could generate 160,000 jobs by 2020, both in the UK and abroad. Since the consultation, research commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) suggests that the size of the renewable energy sector and of the broader low-carbon and environmental goods and services economy, has been substantially underestimated. Based on the research projections and Labour Force Survey data, we estimate that this strategy, combined with a growing market for renewable energy across Europe and globally, could increase UK employment in the renewable energy sector by up to 500,000 people by 2020. (These projections use a broad definition of the sector and are subject to considerable uncertainty).

Nuclear Power Stations: Bradwell

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will arrange for  (a) an exhibition and  (b) public discussions to be held in Colchester constituency on proposals for a new nuclear power station at Bradwell, Essex.

David Kidney: DECC will be holding both an exhibition and public discussion, as part of its consultation on the draft Nuclear National Policy Statement, at the Mersea centre in West Mersea, Colchester on 10 December. You can find more details on the venue on the events website:
	www.nuclear-nps-events.info

Nuclear Power Stations: Bradwell

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what criteria were used for choosing locations for the exhibition and public discussion on proposals for a new nuclear power station at Bradwell, Essex; and if he will make a statement.

David Kidney: Venues were chosen to be as close to the proposed nuclear power station site and while being as accessible as possible, our priority is to facilitate participation by as many people as possible.
	We took into account a number of principles which helped us in choosing the exhibition location. These included:
	Journey time to proposed site
	Historic evidence of attendance levels to similar consultations
	Existence of multiple proposed sites in one area
	A wide range of venues were considered for each location. Suggested venues have been recommended by local authorities and energy companies (who have undertaken similar events in the past) and we have endeavoured to use as many of these recommendations as possible. A continuous three-day slot that stayed open into the evening was also sought, which meant many venues were unavailable due to regular weekly clubs/fitness programmes etc.
	The priority was finding the largest possible venues, nearest to the site and with good accessibility to the public, as possible.

Government Communications

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether her Department's communications/support officer within the professional head of intelligence analysis team is affiliated to the Government Communication Network.

Angela Smith: The communications support officer within the professional head of intelligence analysis team deals with internal cross-government communications. The post is not part of the Government communications network.

Population: Bedfordshire

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate she has made of the projected population of Mid Bedfordshire constituency in each of the next five years.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated November 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the estimate of the projected population of Mid Bedfordshire constituency in the next five years. (302924)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces population estimates and population projections for all local authority areas but only produces population estimates for parliamentary constituencies that are not coterminous with local authority boundaries. I am therefore unable to provide the figures you requested for Mid Bedfordshire constituency.
	For your information the table below shows the projected population for mid-2010 to mid-2014 for the three local authorities which covered the Mid Bedfordshire constituency in 2008 when these projections were produced.
	
		
			  Thousand 
			  Local authority  Mid-2010  Mid-2011  Mid-2012  Mid-2013  Mid-2014 
			 Bedford 162 164 166 168 169 
			 Mid Bedfordshire 142 145 147 150 152 
			 South Bedfordshire 121 123 124 125 126

Children: Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what provisions exist for the punishment of parents in respect of breaches of anti-social behaviour orders by their children.

Alan Campbell: I have been asked to reply.
	Plans to legislate for mandatory parenting orders when 10 to 15-year-olds breach their ASBO are contained in the Crime and Security Bill. Parenting orders are court based orders that can be applied for by a range of different agencies in different circumstances. They are intended for parents who are unwilling to engage with voluntary measures. An order will specify requirements for the parent to comply with, for example, to counselling or guidance sessions for a period of up to three months. They may also have conditions imposed on them such as attending meetings with teachers at their child's school, ensuring their child does not visit a particular place unsupervised or ensuring their child is at home at particular times. These conditions can last for a period up to 12 months. A parent/carer can be prosecuted for failing to keep the requirements of the order. A parenting order is a civil order but breach of the order is an offence punishable by a fine of up to £1,000.

Children: Day Care

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of registered childminders were  (a) male and  (b) female in each local authority area in the South East in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: The Childcare and Early Years Providers survey provides estimates of the proportion of childminders(1) who are male and female in England from 1998 until 2008. These data are not available for years prior to 1998. Estimates can be provided of the number and proportion of male and female childminders by region for 2006 to 2008, however these data are not available at the local authority level, or for earlier years. Table 1 provides the number and proportion of male and female childminders in England from 1998 until 2008. Table 2 provides the number and proportion of male and female childminders in the South East in 2006 to 2008.
	(1) The data provided refers to the number and proportion of working childminders. Childminders who were registered but not working are not included.
	
		
			  Table 1: Sex of childminders in England 
			   Male  c hildminders  Female  c hildminders 
			   Proportion of childminders (Percentage)  Number of male childminders (Percentage)  Proportion of childminders (Percentage)  Number of female childminders 
			 1998 0.5 470 99 92,400 
			 2001 1 400 99 71,900 
			 2003 1 800 99 72,100 
			 2005 2 1,000 98 56,700 
			 2006 2 1,200 98 56,700 
			 2007 1 620 99 59,200 
			 2008 2 900 98 55,300 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Sex of childminders in the South East 
			   Male c hildminders  Female c hildminders 
			   Proportion of childminders (Percentage)  Number of male childminders  Proportion of childminders (Percentage)  Number of female childminders 
			 2006 2 200 98 10,800 
			 2007 1 100 99 11,200 
			 2008 3 300 97 10,600

Classroom Assistants: North East

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many full-time equivalent teaching assistants there were in  (a) maintained nurseries,  (b) primary schools,  (c) secondary schools,  (d) special schools and  (e) pupil referral units in each education authority in the North East region in each January from 2005 to 2009.

Vernon Coaker: The following tables provide the full-time equivalent number of teaching assistants employed in local authority maintained schools in each local authority in the North East Government Office Region, in each January from 2005 to 2009 broken down by the phase of education.
	
		
			  Full-time equivalent number of teaching assistants in service in local authority maintained schools( 1)  by phase, coverage: North East Government Office Region, years: January 2005 to 2009 
			  Nursery 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 North East 150 120 150 140 150 
			   
			 Gateshead * * * * * 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 50 40 50 20 30 
			 North Tyneside 10 * * * * 
			 South Tyneside 10 10 10 10 10 
			 Sunderland 50 30 40 40 50 
			 Hartlepool * * * * * 
			 Middlesbrough * * * * * 
			 Redcar and Cleveland * * * * * 
			 Stockton-on-Tees * * * * * 
			 Durham 10 20 40 40 50 
			 Darlington 10 10 10 10 * 
			 Northumberland * * * * * 
		
	
	
		
			  Primary 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 North East 4,040 4,180 4,550 5,060 5,130 
			   
			 Gateshead 320 340 370 390 380 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 440 320 360 370 370 
			 North Tyneside 180 250 260 310 260 
			 South Tyneside 270 280 270 290 320 
			 Sunderland 540 540 640 680 630 
			 Hartlepool 190 180 170 260 280 
			 Middlesbrough 340 330 360 390 420 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 150 220 210 290 290 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 210 240 270 360 370 
			 Durham 730 740 810 860 940 
			 Darlington 160 190 220 250 220 
			 Northumberland 520 550 600 620 660 
		
	
	
		
			  Secondary 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 North East 1,250 1,480 1,580 1,650 1,800 
			   
			 Gateshead 40 50 50 40 60 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 110 160 170 170 210 
			 North Tyneside 70 90 100 120 110 
			 South Tyneside 90 100 70 80 80 
			 Sunderland 110 140 150 140 150 
			 Hartlepool 100 80 90 90 100 
			 Middlesbrough 60 70 70 70 100 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 60 90 110 130 140 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 80 100 100 130 140 
			 Durham 160 170 200 200 210 
			 Darlington 50 40 60 50 50 
			 Northumberland 310 380 410 420 440 
		
	
	
		
			  Special 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 North East 130 140 1,050 1,050 1,170 
			   
			 Gateshead 10 10 90 80 90 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 10 10 110 100 110 
			 North Tyneside 10 10 110 80 110 
			 South Tyneside 20 10 70 70 70 
			 Sunderland 10 10 120 140 150 
			 Hartlepool * 10 20 30 30 
			 Middlesbrough 30 30 110 90 110 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 10 20 10 80 100 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 10 10 90 80 100 
			 Durham 10 10 170 160 160 
			 Darlington 10 10 40 40 40 
			 Northumberland * * 100 110 120 
		
	
	
		
			  PRU 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 North East 870 1,010 130 130 150 
			   
			 Gateshead 80 90 10 * 10 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 90 100 10 10 10 
			 North Tyneside 20 90 * * * 
			 South Tyneside 60 70 20 20 10 
			 Sunderland 100 130 10 10 10 
			 Hartlepool 20 40 10 10 * 
			 Middlesbrough 100 90 20 20 30 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 20 50 10 20 30 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 70 70 10 10 10 
			 Durham 180 160 10 20 20 
			 Darlington 40 40 10 10 20 
			 Northumberland 80 90 * * * 
		
	
	
		
			  Total all schools 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 North East 6,430 6,930 7,450 8,030 8,400 
			   
			 Gateshead 450 480 520 510 550 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 700 620 700 670 720 
			 North Tyneside 290 430 470 520 480 
			 South Tyneside 440 470 440 460 500 
			 Sunderland 810 850 960 1,020 990 
			 Hartlepool 310 310 300 390 410 
			 Middlesbrough 530 520 570 580 650 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 240 380 350 520 550 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 380 430 470 570 610 
			 Durham 1,090 1,100 1,220 1,280 1,370 
			 Darlington 270 300 340 350 320 
			 Northumberland 910 1,040 1,120 1,150 1,230 
			 (1) Excludes CTCs and Academies. * = Zero or less than 5.  Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: School Census

Departmental Energy

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the energy  (a) rating and  (b) band of each building occupied by his Department and its agencies was in each of the last three years.

Diana Johnson: The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) publish central government departments' Display Energy Certificate (DEC) operational ratings (building by building level) on their website accessible via the following link OGC- Display Energy Certificate data.
	DEC reference numbers for each building can be used to view each advisory report accessible via the following link
	https://www.ndepcregister.com/home.html
	DECs were required from October 2008 onwards.

GCSE

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he expects constituency level data on GCSE and equivalent results for the 2008-09 academic year to be published.

Vernon Coaker: The Department intends to publish the parliamentary constituency level data on GCSE and equivalent results for the year 2008-09 approximately three to four weeks after the publication of the Achievement and Attainment Tables, which are scheduled for publication in January 2010.

GCSE

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to his press release of 16 November 2009, Put children and young people at the heart of the care system, what the evidential basis is for the statement that the number of young people achieving good GCSEs has doubled in the last two years.

Dawn Primarolo: We have checked the care matters ministerial stocktake report and press notice. The report correctly said
	In 2008 14 per cent. of children in care achieved 5 A*-C at GCSE (2008)-double the figure of 7 per cent. in 2000 But the press notice included an error which said
	In just two years the number of young people achieving good GCSEs has doubled
	We have corrected the press release online.

National Curriculum Tests

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils obtained level two or above in Key Stage 1  (a) English and  (b) mathematics tests in 2005 but did not obtain level four or above in Key Stage 2 tests in 2009.

Vernon Coaker: There was no data collected for 2005 key stage 1 tests in English or Mathematics, however there Teacher Assessment (TA) data was collected for key stage 1 in 2005. Information showing the transition from key stage 1 attainment, based on TA data, to key stage 2 attainment based on test data will be available in table 6 of the forthcoming Statistical First Release: National Curriculum Assessment at key stage 2 in England 2008/09 (Revised). This will be published on 1 December 2009.

Pre-school Education: Finance

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how much capital funding for nursery provision has been allocated to  (a) Poole borough council,  (b) Bournemouth borough council and  (c) Dorset county council in the last three years;
	(2)  how much revenue nursery grant funding has been allocated to  (a) Poole borough council,  (b) Bournemouth borough council and  (c) Dorset county council in each of the last three years; and what other sources of revenue funding for early years activities have been made available to each council in each such year.

Dawn Primarolo: Nursery Grant funding as was, is now covered by the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG). The DSG is given to local authorities to fund the wide range of needs of pupils aged three to 15.
	The DSG is allocated on the basis of an amount per pupil to meet all that needs to be funded. Local authorities are then responsible for deciding how best to apportion the overall grant to meet their local objectives. It is therefore not possible to disaggregate the amount allocated to nursery provision.
	The Department provides a number of other grants to local authorities to fund the wider policies of Early Years provision. The Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Grant (SSEYCG) supports the delivery of the Government's 10 Year Strategy for Childcare and the goals in the Children's Plan, by providing funding: for Sure Start children's centres; for the Graduate Leader Fund; to improve the quality of and access to learning environments in early years settings; and to transform short break services for disabled children, among other things.
	Details of the amounts allocated to the various strands of the SSEYCG are shown in the following table. Many of the strands are not individually ring-fenced, and similarly to the DSG, local authorities are responsible for apportioning the grant to best meet local needs.
	Lastly the Standard's Fund includes funding to extend and increase the flexibility of the entitlement for three and four-year-olds to free child care. The local authorities in question received an allocation for this in 2009-10, details of which are also shown in the table.
	
		
			 2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			  Grant  Strand  Classification  Bournemouth  Dorset  Poole  Bournemouth  Dorset  Poole  Bournemouth  Dorset  Poole 
			 Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Grant Children's Centres Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- 1,676,318 2,770,062 1,018,560 2,043,172 3,702,219 1,381,840 
			  Sufficiency and Access Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- 391,687 720,426 296,946 387,194 742,039 305,854 
			  Outcomes, Quality and Inclusion Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- 404,941 746,629 308,036 438,074 846,851 350,216 
			  Graduate Leader Fund Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- 212,599 435,959 137,871 284,893 582,250 177,502 
			  Every Child a Talker Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- 0 0 0 107,418 0 0 
			  Buddying Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Childcare Take Up BME Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- 0 0 0 
			  National Indicator 118 Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- 0 0 0 
			  Sure Start Local Programmes Revenue 620,426 669,774 0 456,402 625,807 0 453,148 453,148 0 
			  Disabled Children's Access to Childcare Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Two Year Old Early Learning Pilot Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- 0 0 0 135,572 165,836 133,050 
			  0-7 Year Old Partnership Pilot Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Work Focused Services Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- 0 0 0 
			  Achievement for All Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- 0 0 0 
			  Aiming High for Disabled Children Revenue 15,000 15,000 15,000 122,300 336,300 115,500 357,300 1,047,500 335,400 
			  Extended Schools Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- 136,055 460,757 92,458 (1)- (1)- (1)- 
			  Early Years Foundation Stage (PVI) Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- 15,620 41,223 15,362 (1)- (1)- (1)- 
			  Social and Emotional Aspects of Development Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- 19,707 52,523 14,031 (1)- (1)- (1)- 
			  Main Revenue Revenue 2,071,040 3,627,762 1,365,067 (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- 
			  Transformation Fund Revenue 236,408 509,640 197,905 (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- 
			  Children's Centres Capital (1)- (1)- (1)- 179,498 667,272 269,943 372,158 1,402,445 566,784 
			  Childcare Quality and Access Capital (1)- (1)- (1)- 640,989 1,440,292 534,772 640,989 1,440,292 534,772 
			  Aiming High for Disabled Children Capital 0 0 0 56,700 149,000 53,100 132,200 347,700 123,800 
			  Main Capital Capital 2,056,968 3,555,642 1,994,757 (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- 
			  SSEYCG Sub Total  4,999,842 8,377,818 3,572,729 4,312,816 8,446,250 2,856,579 5,352,118 10,730,280 3,909,218 
			 
			 Standard's Fund Free Entitlement for Three and Four Year Olds Revenue 0 0 0 0 0 0 187,014 655,755 148,256 
			 
			  Total  4,999,842 8,377,818 3,572,729 4,312,816 8,446,250 2,856,579 5,539,132 11,386,035 4,057,474 
			 (1) Indicates that grant strand was not available in a particular year.  Notes: 1. Main Revenue and Main Capital include children's centres and childcare sufficiency funding. However, it is not possible to disaggregate into individual strands for the 2007-08 financial year. 2. Under the terms and conditions of the Grant Aiming High for Disabled Children, Extended Schools, and Quality and Access capital funding can be used to deliver services to an age range wider than early years. The services delivered by children's centres and local programmes may also link with other policy areas with wider age ranges.

Primary Education: Bedfordshire

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent representations he has received on proposed primary school closures in Mid Bedfordshire constituency.

Diana Johnson: None. School place planning is the statutory responsibility of individual local authorities. This includes making sure there are sufficient school places, and also removing surplus places when required. To facilitate this local authorities have the power to propose the closure of maintained schools.
	Where local authorities propose to make any changes to local school provision, including closures, they must follow a statutory process, which is then decided under established local decision making arrangements. Ministers have no direct role in the process.

Primary Education: Greater London

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when his Department plans to announce allocation of funding to primary schools in the London Boroughs of  (a) Richmond and  (b) Kingston upon Thames in respect of the September 2010 intake.

Vernon Coaker: We announced on 30 November 2009 the allocation of £271 million of capital funding for the provision of additional primary places by 2011, to 34 authorities including both Richmond upon Thames and Kingston upon Thames. Richmond is allocated £3.3 million and Kingston £8.2 million. This will enable these authorities to start projects to provide additional permanent places for 2010 and beyond. This allocation is in addition to over £1.2 billion allocated nationally from 2008-11, to support the provision of additional school places.
	It is the responsibility of local authorities to forecast and plan to provide school places where they are needed. The Government allocate capital funding to support their provision, based on local authority forecasts. However, we accept that in some areas there have recently been local demographic and other pressures which have made this unusually difficult. Therefore, in July, we invited all authorities which are experiencing exceptionally high and unpredicted increase in demand for additional primary school places to apply for additional funding.
	Initially, we secured £200 million for this need, but when evaluating applications, and from discussions with authorities and representative bodies, we concluded that a larger sum, and more flexibility in our eligibility and allocation criteria, would provide appropriate support to a wide range of the neediest authorities.
	The Department does not allocate revenue money directly to schools. Local authorities need to allocate budgets to schools for the 2010-11 financial year before the 31 March 2010.

Schools: Admissions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools in each local education authority have a percentage of surplus places of at least 25; and if he will make a statement.

Diana Johnson: The Department collects information from each local authority on the number of surplus school places through an annual survey. The most recent data available relates to the position at January 2008.
	The following table shows the number of schools in each local education authority which have a percentage of surplus places of 25 or above.
	
		
			  LA  Number of primary schools with 25 per cent. or more surplus  Number of secondary schools with 25 per cent. or more surplus  Total 
			 Blackpool 0 0 0 
			 City of London 0 0 0 
			 Isles of Scilly 0 0 0 
			 Westminster 0 0 0 
			 Camden 1 0 1 
			 Darlington 1 0 1 
			 Sutton 1 0 1 
			 Ealing 2 0 2 
			 Haringey 2 0 2 
			 Lambeth 2 0 2 
			 Luton 2 0 2 
			 Richmond upon Thames 1 1 2 
			 Slough 2 0 2 
			 Southend-on-Sea 1 1 2 
			 Brent 2 1 3 
			 Islington 3 0 3 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 3 0 3 
			 Kingston upon Thames 2 1 3 
			 St. Helens 2 1 3 
			 Waltham Forest 2 1 3 
			 Barking and Dagenham 4 0 4 
			 Dudley 2 2 4 
			 Enfield 3 1 4 
			 Hartlepool 3 1 4 
			 Redbridge 3 1 4 
			 Torbay 3 1 4 
			 Barnsley 5 0 5 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 4 1 5 
			 Bracknell Forest 4 1 5 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 3 2 5 
			 Hounslow 5 0 5 
			 Merton 5 0 5 
			 Poole 4 1 5 
			 Telford and Wrekin 5 0 5 
			 Wandsworth 3 2 5 
			 Bexley 4 2 6 
			 Bournemouth 5 1 6 
			 Tameside 5 1 6 
			 Tower Hamlets 6 0 6 
			 Wokingham 5 1 6 
			 Hackney 5 2 7 
			 Harrow 7 0 7 
			 Kingston upon Hull; City of 5 2 7 
			 North Somerset 7 0 7 
			 Thurrock 7 0 7 
			 West Berkshire 7 0 7 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 6 1 7 
			 York 6 1 7 
			 Barnet 6 2 8 
			 Brighton and Hove 7 1 8 
			 Bury 6 2 8 
			 Coventry 6 2 8 
			 Croydon 5 3 8 
			 Newham 7 1 8 
			 Oldham 7 1 8 
			 Peterborough 6 2 8 
			 Reading 6 2 8 
			 Rochdale 6 2 8 
			 Rutland 8 0 8 
			 Swindon 8 0 8 
			 Wigan 6 2 8 
			 Bolton 5 4 9 
			 Havering 8 1 9 
			 Leicester 7 2 9 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 7 2 9 
			 Halton 8 2 10 
			 Rotherham 10 0 10 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 7 3 10 
			 Walsall 9 1 10 
			 Greenwich 10 1 11 
			 Lewisham 10 1 11 
			 Trafford 9 2 11 
			 North Lincolnshire 10 2 12 
			 Solihull 12 0 12 
			 Stockport 12 0 12 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 9 3 12 
			 Bradford 11 2 13 
			 Calderdale 12 1 13 
			 Gateshead 11 2 13 
			 Hillingdon 8 5 13 
			 North East Lincolnshire 9 4 13 
			 Southwark 12 1 13 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 12 2 14 
			 Derby 13 1 14 
			 South Tyneside 13 1 14 
			 Medway 14 1 15 
			 Middlesbrough 14 1 15 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 15 0 15 
			 Portsmouth 13 2 15 
			 Warrington 14 1 15 
			 Plymouth 15 1 16 
			 Sandwell 15 1 16 
			 Bristol; City of 12 6 18 
			 Bromley 18 0 18 
			 Manchester 16 3 19 
			 Sefton 14 5 19 
			 Sheffield 18 1 19 
			 Herefordshire 19 1 20 
			 South Gloucestershire 17 3 20 
			 Southampton 13 7 20 
			 Sunderland 16 4 20 
			 Salford 19 2 21 
			 Leeds 20 2 22 
			 North Tyneside 20 2 22 
			 Wolverhampton 20 3 23 
			 Doncaster 22 2 24 
			 East Sussex 22 2 24 
			 Milton Keynes 21 3 24 
			 Knowsley 22 4 26 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 27 0 27 
			 Isle of Wight 22 5 27 
			 Oxfordshire 25 3 28 
			 Wirral 25 4 29 
			 Kirklees 24 6 30 
			 Worcestershire 26 4 30 
			 Warwickshire 26 5 31 
			 Liverpool 28 4 32 
			 Nottingham 27 7 34 
			 Wakefield 33 1 34 
			 Cambridgeshire 33 3 36 
			 Shropshire 35 1 36 
			 Bedfordshire 29 8 37 
			 Surrey 31 6 37 
			 Devon 36 2 38 
			 West Sussex 33 5 38 
			 Buckinghamshire 37 2 39 
			 Dorset 36 4 40 
			 Somerset 38 2 40 
			 Birmingham 38 3 41 
			 Cornwall 45 2 47 
			 Leicestershire 42 5 47 
			 Lincolnshire 46 3 49 
			 Northamptonshire 48 1 49 
			 Cumbria 43 9 52 
			 Wiltshire 47 5 52 
			 Gloucestershire 49 6 55 
			 Cheshire 52 6 58 
			 Kent 50 9 59 
			 Durham 55 7 62 
			 Staffordshire 55 7 62 
			 Nottinghamshire 60 6 66 
			 Northumberland 57 14 71 
			 Derbyshire 70 4 74 
			 Hampshire 64 12 76 
			 Hertfordshire 67 13 80 
			 Suffolk 74 12 86 
			 Norfolk 83 4 87 
			 Essex 83 11 94 
			 North Yorkshire 110 8 118 
			 Lancashire 123 12 135

Schools: Admissions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  which local authorities applied for targeted capital funds for surplus place removal following his Department's letter to Directors of Children's Services on 16 June 2008;
	(2)  which local authorities received targeted capital funds for surplus place removal since June 2008; how much each such local authority received for that purpose; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Seven authorities applied and all received an award.
	The amount awarded under the targeted capital funds for surplus place removal to authorities is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Local authority  Allocation (£) 
			 Derbyshire 475,000 
			 Hampshire 898,000 
			 Knowsley 3,825,000 
			 Suffolk 2,165,000 
			 Bristol 2,100,350 
			 Shropshire 562,320 
			 Lancashire 600,000 
			 Total 10,625,670

Schools: Construction

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what response he has received from North East Lincolnshire local authority in respect of his proposal to bring forward from 2010-11 to the current financial year capital funding for building schools; and what proportion of the available funding North East Lincolnshire local authority has taken up.

Vernon Coaker: North East Lincolnshire bid for, and are taking up, an advance of £775,000 Primary Programme funding from 2010-11 in the current financial year. If the local authority and Voluntary Aided schools had applied for the maximum available advances, they would have received advances of £5,378 for Primary Capital, £1,979 for Modernisation, and £212,000 in respect of Voluntary Aided schools.
	In common with all other authorities, all maintained schools in North East Lincolnshire were allocated a Devolved Formula Capital advance calculated as 40 per cent. of the estimated 2010-11 allocation. In the case of the local authority and Voluntary Aided schools, this amounted to £1,284.

Special Educational Needs

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children with emotional, behavioural and social difficulties there are in  (a) Mid Bedfordshire constituency,  (b) the East of England and  (c) England.

Diana Johnson: The requested information is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Maintained primary( 1) , state-funded secondary( 1, 2)  and special schools( 3) : Number of pupils( 4)  with behaviour, emotional and social difficulties( 5) . In Mid-Bedfordshire constituency, East of England Government office region and England-January 2009 
			   Mid-Bedfordshire  East of England  England 
			   Maintained primary  State funded secondary  All special  Maintained primary  State funded secondary  All special  Maintained primary  State funded secondary  All special 
			 2009 60 170 0 6,550 9,210 990 58,930 82,270 13,240 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes City Technology Colleges and Academies. (3) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (4) Headcount of solely registered pupils only. (5) Pupils at School Action Plus and those pupils with a statement of Special Educational Needs provided information on their primary need and, if appropriate, their secondary need. Information on primary need only is given here.  Note: Pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: School Census

Young People: Eating Disorders

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his latest estimate is of the proportion of young people with eating disorders for whom bullying has contributed to their illness.

Vernon Coaker: The DCSF does not have any specific estimate of the extent of eating disorders caused by bullying. However, we do know that bullying can destroy lives and impact negatively on young people's confidence, self esteem, mental health, and social and emotional development, so it is important that young people who are suffering speak out.
	Because of the effects of bullying, the DCSF has sent a strong message to all that bullying should not be tolerated in and outside of schools. To reinforce this message, we have given schools the powers to regulate the conduct of pupils, to put measures in place to promote good behaviour, respect for others and to prevent all forms of bullying among pupils.